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DO YOU REMEMBER VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL?
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Jun 18, 2007 8:42 am
667 Views
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I'm just back from registering my 12 year old grandson Dillon for Vacation Bible School at the church down the street from my apartments.
I was surprised to see how registration was handled. Quite a few went right through because they had registered ONLINE.
I watched as a lady from Cornerstone Church registered 7 children from Gallatin Church of Christ at this, the VBS at First Baptist Church.
Absolutely wonderful....but unusual I thought.
At the registration desk they were selling T-shirts for $5.00. My grandson said he didn't want one so we passed on that. His friend Bronson, who was right behind us, said he had to take one...his grandmother demanded it. As I walked back I wondered if I should have demanded that Dillon wear one too.
While I was waiting to cross the street I chatted with the gentleman who was directing parents and children into the foyer. He told me he was born in 1924 and how the world had changed so drastically since then. He specifically mentioned not having a car or a telephone back then and I laughed to myself. Not all of us have those today.
The whole experience made me think back to VBS in Kingsport, Tn. It was 9am June something in 1950 when I approached the mass of children outside Calvary Baptist Church. I had walked there from my grandmother's house;along a dirt alley lined with wildflowers. I particularly remember the morning glories. Purple blue with white throats; they always made me feel happy.
From the alley I made my way down paved sidewalks, Oak Street, Elm Street, Maple Street. They all had lots of the appropriate trees making it a shady walk.
Once at the church I made my way through the giggling crowd until I found my group of friends; Portia, Phyllis, Shirley, Ina, Sibbey, Little Linda (no relation, just a neighbor a couple of years younger than me). Portia was nine and the rest of us were eight.
I don't recall any parents around. Of course there were adults, probably grandparents lol, but I didn't know any of them. There was no registration desk. We just lined up with the kids we knew from school and marched inside behind the American and the Christian flags.
The opening ceremony included pledging allegiance to both flags and an upheld Bible.
It truly touched the heart of this half wild child, with its solemn ritual.
We sang songs, listened to scripture, had a brief explanation of the scripture, there was prayer and we were led in single file into our separate classrooms.
Here we learned about Creation, God, Jesus, Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, Moses, Aaron, Miriam,Ruth, Boaz, Mary, Joseph the carpenter, all of the disciples, Zaccheus, Mary, Martha, Lazarus,Mary Magdelene, Saul/Paul, Timothy....what a rich heritage the Jewish and Christian faiths have. Much of it shared.
It was a simpler world back then. Easier to believe in something bigger than self. Temptation was usually nothing more than sneaking a cookie before dinner, or stopping at a friend's house and being late getting home from school, spending lunch money for candy.
The punishment for offenses (or imagined offenses) was swift and fierce. Mother sent me to bring in a switch from the backyard. I looked for thicker ones as they didn't sting like the thin ones. But if it wasn't to her liking she would send me back for another.
That was rarely the end of it though. When Daddy got home from work my transgressions would be related to him. Slowly he would take off his belt, take me to a bedroom, tell me what he was about to do hurt him more than me, then tear into me as if he were in battle with the devil himself. The pain was horrendous and I would beg him to stop. I don't know what would bring it to a halt, my screaming and pleading or his own exhaustion. But for days after I suffered the humiliation of everyone seeing the red whelps; sometimes the belt would even draw blood.
Yes, I understood totally what SIN meant and had a good idea what HELL must be.
But my Bible School and Sunday School teachers were always kind to me, and that gave me a notion of ANGELS.
I wonder what Dillon will take away from this week in Bible School. And how he will process it over the coming days, weeks, years of his life.
It was the next summer when I was nine that I left my 3 year old brother at Bible School. But that is another story altogether!
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"MY WISH FOR YOU....."
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Jun 16, 2007 10:46 am
748 Views
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"....is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your troubles stay small,
And you never have to carry more than you can hold.
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too.
Yes this,
is my wish!!!!!"
The country music group Rascal Flatts have expressed so well in this song what I would give each of you if it was within my power to do so.
  
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SAYING GOODBYE...
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Jun 15, 2007 10:18 pm
820 Views
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....to a dear friend is hard.
This last day we spent together was so much fun.
I was late arriving this morning due to heavy traffic but Mature was very understanding. We had an enormous breakfast at Cracker Barrel! Delicious!
We caught a city bus downtown which eliminated the need for finding parking. We got off at the Convention Center and walked down to Legends.
The music was wonderful as usual. For five hours we cruised from Legends to Tootsie's to Two Fiddles listening to some terrific bands.
A late lunch of barbecue ribs at Jack's left us too full to even try our favorite dessert at Inside Mike's which is an old fashioned ice cream parlor.
Finally we boarded the bus and headed back to the Opryland area. A little rest and conversation and Mature packed his bags for his return to Northumberland tomorrow.
We had a late snack of wine, cheese, crackers and sweets. Then down to the hotel lounge where Angie and Freddie entertained with still more music. Freddie sang a couple of George Strait songs for me while Mature was entranced with Angie's entire repretoire.
At 10:30 we realized that, as much as we hated to do it, I had to leave for home and Mature had to get some sleep as he has to be up early tomorrow for his flight.
And so goodbye for now.....
"I know, you had to go.
And nothing either one of us could do.
But this story doesn't end,
With a sad goodbye to my friend.
We'll meet again,soon, I promise you."
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MATURE MEETS THE FAMILY...
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Jun 13, 2007 12:34 pm
1059 Views
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I picked Mature up at his hotel and we came back to my apartment so he could meet my family. They had been very curious about him.
When we arrived at the building there were two fire trucks sitting at the side of the apartments. A fire drill had just been completed and the firemen were leaving. I introduced Mature and told them he was a firefighter in England so they had a bit of a chat.
Once inside I introduced him to our receptionist and a couple of ladies who were standing at the front desk. Alameda was charmed with Mature's accent and told him if he would just come down there and talk she would love to listen.
Mildred whispered to me as she went by that she hoped it wouldn't make me jealous.
Mature gets this kind of attention from all the ladies everywhere he goes in this country. That accent is very charming.
The family was due around noon and Lynette
arrived first with soda, ice and cups.
Dillon, the 12 year old, accompanied her. Soon Nic, age 16 dropped in.
We began to wonder about Leslie and her crew when the phone rang. She wanted to let us know she had been looking for her car keys for twenty minutes but had just found them and would be along shortly.
Conversation was a bit stilted at first, but soon everyone was comfortable and chatting away.
When Leslie and the 6 year old twins arrived with pizza things really warmed up and Mature got an interesting view of my crazy family.
Leslie asked him about the CMA Music Fest and he assured her it had been awesome. The final count announced on television news was 190,000 in attendance. We told her we believed it, and every single one of them appeared to be on the hillside above us at the opening riverfront concert featuring Terri Clark. It took a good 45 minutes to climb the hill, winding our way through the crowd when we were ready to leave. It had only taken 5 minutes to get down there when we had arrived.
When asked what performance he had enjoyed most, Mature had the same opinion I did. Martina McBride did a real show stopper on Saturday night.
Other favorites were Allen Jackson and Rascal Flatts.
Mature had made certain that I brought back lots of freebies to give the grands and they were delighted with the baseball caps, soccer balls, toy cars and such.
All too soon everyone had to go their seperate ways...Lynette taking the 3 youngest boys to the movies, Nic off to work, Leslie to shop for Father's Day and Mature and I to return to his hotel where we were catching the shuttle to the General Jackson Showboat dinner show.
He'll be leaving on Saturday and I am really going to miss his company.
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WISH YOU WERE HERE!!!
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Jun 6, 2007 6:27 am
1131 Views
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Yesterday I started my day with my 30 minutes of brisk walking and shoulder exercises. Four sets of 25 on the pulley and four sets of 25 with the bar. If you were here you could have done some of those for me. LOL
Seriously, the part you would have enjoyed came next. I met Mature for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. After a couple of hours of conversation and organization (figuring out where to pick up tickets for shuttles and pre-ordered tickets for Fan Fair) and making an apppointment with attorney for advice about my worker's comp and insurance situation we hit the road.
We headed first for Goodlettsville and the Long Hollow Winery. Stu Phillips, an older Grand Ole Opry star opened this winery a few years ago and his son is the vinter. After tasting wine and cheese, he and Mature spent quite a while discussing things English.
Next we got back on I65 and up to Orlinda where we had another tasting at the Sumner Crest Winery. This one is owned by brothers. One brother was into antiques and the other into growing wine grapes. They combined their interests and have a beautiful winery and gift shop where they also display some fantastic classic cars.
By then we were so close we drove on up to Franklin, Kentucky and had a lovely chat with the lady who runs the Welcome Center. I had visited with her before and learned who is who in their small town. This time we got the lowdown on civil war sites in Kentucky and I learned the difference in the Quakers, the Shakers and the Mennonites.
Back down into the Rivergate area we had Barbecue at Bar-B-Cuties'. Very Mom & Pop sorta place.
Picked up a map (based on Mature's last experience with me trying to find my way around Nashville) and drove down to the Bicentennial Mall. This is an extradordinary place to me. Beautiful monuments showing the development of Tennessee from 240 billion years ago. Mature got some nice photographs of the park, the Carrillion and the State Capitol.
From there we went on over to Centennial Park for more photo ops at the Parthenon and Lake.
By this time it was getting pretty cloudy, kinda dark and we started back for his hotel in heavy afternoon traffic. The man has nerves of steel. Not once did he cry out in terror as I wended my way thru the mess to get us back on I65.
The clouds burst and we concluded our day. Fortunately I was able to pull into the hotel garage so neither of us drowned trying to get his purchases from the day inside.
When visitors come to your town where do you like to take them?
 
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SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUT!!!
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Jun 3, 2007 8:43 pm
884 Views
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Back in early March I bought a new Kodak Easy Share Camera and Dock. My intention was to put pictures on Ebay of items I wanted to sell.
Then came my surgery and it was impossible to use the camera until recently.
Being the computer illiterate that I confess, I am...I started asking various friends and family members to show me how to use it. Finally my niece Monica came over for an evening and connected it for me. Then she spent quite sometime transferring pics from a WalMart CD to my computer. When she had to leave she assured me the software was installed, the dock was connected and all I had to do was follow the directions and I could transfer my pics to the computer.
HA!
Off and on for two weeks I struggled with that thing. I could access the program but could not for the life of me get a picture to show up in a file.
Saturday my friend Mature flew 5000 miles to visit Nashville. Sunday I took him by my apartment to see if he could figure out what was wrong with the set up. I was about convinced that either the dock or the camera was defective and I was going to have to return one or both of them.
Mature worked diligently for quite some time with no more luck than I had. Finally he picked up the dock, looked at the cords coming out of the back and said "OK Linda, where is the other end of this cord?" "Right there, connected to the power source," I replied.
"Then where is the other end of this other cord,"he asked. I took hold of the second cord as I told him "It is in a USB port on the back of the computer." And with that the end of the cord came into plain view. DISCONNECTED!!!
Like I said...sometimes you feel like a nut!
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I WAS ALMOST LATE...
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Jun 2, 2007 4:24 pm
840 Views
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10:00AM I was leaving the apartment building on my way to pick up the balloons. Got stopped in the lobby by ladies wanting to see the paintings I was taking to Mature.
10:30 Stopped at the Party Place to get the balloons. Four people ahead of me in line. Three youngsters inflating balloons as fast as they could.
11:00 Balloons in hand I got back in the car.Got back on the road and traffic was bumper to bumper as far as I could see. Took an alternate route, hoping against hope that I was going the right way.
11:28 Parked the car and ran to my chosen release point.
11:30 I stood in the Grand Ole Opry Plaza. The sun was shining and soft white clouds sailed the sky. I held up my cluster of 6 round and 2 star shaped balloons tied with yellow ribbons.With tears flowing I whispered "Hope, Faith, these three, and the greatest of these is Love. Goodbye little sister until we meet again" Then slowly I released them one by one and watched them rise until they slipped through an opening in the clouds and disappeared. The stars were last. As they ascended into the heavens I realized the song being played over the sound system in the Plaza was "I Can't Stop Loving You"
I walked back to my car singing softly "We WON'T stop loving you" and I am sure none of us will.
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IF I WAS IN CHARGE....
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Jun 2, 2007 7:04 am
938 Views
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Have you ever had thoughts along those lines? Mulled over all the things that would be different if you were the one calling the shots?
Many years ago, though it seems like only yesterday, when I was younger and thought life was supposed to be good, and love wasn't supposed to hurt, I started to write a treatise about that very thing. If I were in charge around here.
"IF I WERE GOD..." it began.
"If I were God I would..."
"Well, if I were God I think I would..."
"Hmmm, if I were God I would try..."
"You know, if I were God I'd just forget the whole thing"
Today, which doesn't seem so very different from those days, once again I feel like the punch line to a collossal cosmic joke. I can't help but wonder why God doesn't just chuck it all and start over.
But He hasn't, at least not yet, and I am thankful that He hasn't. Because no matter how tough life gets, somewhere deep inside me there is still a spark. You know the one I mean. That little spark that dances among the dying embers of youthful idealism and hope, ready to ignite enthusiasm, determination and staying power.
I don't know. Is it still possible at this late date? Can someone hurtling toward her 65th birthday pick up the broken pieces of her life and become, finally,the success she envisioned herself becoming back when her world was young and promising?
I repeat, I don't know. But someone very dear to me recently gave me some sage advice. "Take a chance," she said. "Don't let the past and your anxiety stop you." "Give it a chance!"
Because I have watched her take these same words and totally change her own life, I am inspired to follow suit.
So here I go again, taking a chance, on life and love and some not so impossible dreams.
I don't want to be in charge. God has it all under control. So all I have to be is me!
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WHAT WOULD PARIS SAY?
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May 29, 2007 11:51 pm
891 Views
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The following is part of a song by Brad Paisley that I think would express what Paris would want us to know...
When I get where I'm going
And I see my Maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of His amazing grace
So when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these yeats
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here
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